LGBTQ+ Jews of Color are committed to embracing their Jewish identities regardless of feelings of isolation and a lack of understanding and support from the broader Jewish community, according to a report published by the US-based LGBTQ+ Jewish organization Keshet.
The report, titled "Threads of Identity: LGBTQ+ Jews of Color in the Fabric of Jewish Life,” was co-authored by Dr. Gage Gorsky and Sage Cassell Rosenberg, the Keshet Jews of Color program manager. In an introductory letter, Rosenberg noted that they were inspired by the Jews of Color Initiative’s (JoCI’s) 2021 study, “Beyond the Count,” which “beautifully illuminated the experiences of Jews of Color like never before.”
Available between February and September 2024, the anonymous survey designed and released by Keshet was conducted with a sample size of 90. Included in the survey were three open-ended narrative questions and seven Likert-style questions regarding the experiences and emotions LGBTQ+ Jews of Color have navigating Jewish communal life.
Key findings of the study include that 83% of respondents agreed or strongly agreed that their sense of belonging in the Jewish community is negatively impacted by factors such as sexual orientation, gender expression, race, or ethnicity, and 89% encountered microaggressions or stigmatizing perceptions in Jewish spaces, with half reporting that these incidents occur frequently or very frequently.
“Threads of Identity” is a critical work that opens doors for community conversations about the dynamic interplay of belonging, identity, privilege, and oppression that Queer Jews of Color experience every single day as we live and love and labor,” said Gorsky, who was on the research team. “While the findings do bring into focus the complex challenges we face because of our racial, spiritual, gendered, and sexual identities, they also illuminate the vastness of our queer joy, cultural and racial nourishment, and the still-familiar ways we live Jewishly."
Tool to support LGBTQ+ Jews of Color
Golan Moskowitz, an associate professor of Jewish Studies at Tulane University, said the report illuminated a “blindspot in Jewish American institutional and community life,” and it can now serve as a tool to support LGBTQ+ Jews of Color.
“Embodying more than one minority identity is too often an isolating experience of being treated as 'other,' even within one's own affinity spaces; regularly racialized in white contexts and stigmatized in queerphobic and antisemitic contexts, many LGBTQ+ Jews of Color have been conditioned to continuously compartmentalize and monitor themselves,” Moskowitz said. “More than ever, today's Jewish leaders and allies must consider what is actually needed for LGBTQ+ Jews of Color to feel comfortable—not coerced into—participating meaningfully as their full selves.”
Eighty-six percent of respondents disagreed or strongly disagreed with the statement that sufficient support systems and resources exist for them to turn to, according to the report. Additionally, in Jewish spaces, they reported the bias of not matching what it means to “look or be Jewish” leads to lingering stares, questions about their background and conversion status, assumptions about their Jewish knowledge, and questions about their reasons for being in a Jewish communal setting.
Gamal Palmer, Conscious Builders founder and principal, said the report was something he never could have imagined in his lifetime.
“Growing up as a Black, bi-racial, gay (and out) male Jew, we lacked the language and the organized community to foster support, solidarity, and growth among LGBTQ Jews,” Palmer said. “Threads of Identity” lays the groundwork to ensure that our broader LGBTQ and ally Jewish community has a clear roadmap for accountability, care, understanding, and an unwavering commitment to building a truly inclusive and vibrant community.”
The report concludes with recommendations for the Jewish community to support LGBTQ+ Jews of Color, such as deepening one’s awareness by challenging assumptions, managing curiosity to not come at the expense of someone’s dignity, and taking the initiative to self-educate.
Another recommendation centered around allyship, which can be provided by decentering oneself and making time to listen, learn, and support.
The third recommended factor is to take action—supporting diversity initiatives, being an active witness, and intervening or offering support when witnessing discrimination or harm.